The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1887-06-25
THE REBEL FLAG HUBBUB.

Less than a year after the close OF the
war of the rebellion political sentimental
lists began to devise improvements on the
''healing balm of time" as a means OF Tex
tinguishing and obliterating the last ray of
sectional feeling" engendered by the war
Senator Sumner as one device, proposed,
by resolution In Congress, to direct that
all ordnance taken from the "confederates'
during the war, instead of being preserved
as trophies of victory, should at once be
put out of the way, by being melted up
into statues, columns and other works OF
art; and during the administration OF
President Hayes there was serious move
ment In the war department TO dispose OF
bales of captured rebel flags that had accu-
mulated there, with limited means to take
proper core Of them, by returning them to
the states regiments from which they had
been captured. A threat to ventllate the
project In Congress about that time, how.
ever nipped the scheme in the bud.
The scheme seems to have been the pc,
culiar hobby of Adjutant General Drum,
An adjunct of the War Department, and
not discouraged by the rebuff in Fraud
Hayes time, he renewed 1t, but with less
success, during the Arthur administration
and "peckiug away" st 1t, with the help of
Gov Fitzhugh Lee, of Virginia, he sue.
ceeded iinally In getting permission OF the
present Secretary Of War, Endcott, to pro
pose to the governors of the ex rebel states
the return to them OF "those flags" which
were rapidly going to decay as rubbish In
an attic of the War Department Building
at Washington.
Gen Drum, on gaining this permission
like all enthusiasts, event of half cooked.
lie announced forthwith, In windy epis
tie to the southern governors that "the al
ministraticn having approved his recon-
mendation" to return the rebel flags, &c.
he therefore rendered those flags to thu
said governors, &c. But Gen. Drums ide'
of what constitutes the administration
appeared to be somewhat muddled. lr
point of fact, the matter had never ever
been mentioned In the cabinet, and onl,
casually to the President or Secretary En-
dicott
5 Gen. Drums letter, however, got into tn
papers, and naturally that whole superseI
, viceable pack who make watching the ad
ministration their business, and especial
( scent anything like rebel proclisitie
I with the keenness of pointer dog afte
quail, at once set up tremendous how
' Assuming that the President had ordere
4 this thing, leader of the pack yells
May God palsy the hand that wrote th
!. order! May God palsy the brain that col
/ ceived itl' True, a republican senat
Q showed no signs of being shocked at tn
Sumner proposal about rebel guns, bu
q then guns are not flags Flags are tn
d symbols of q cause, and their presence
n the national archives are perpetual r.
\ minder that that cause was defeated an
q crushed; but to give up these flags-th
n eyidence-is an admission that the Grim
involved In the crushed cause Is no long'
l. held In adherence, &c, &c.
D. But II turned out that neither the Pres
e dent nor Secretary of War, nor anyboc
e had made such an "order," and when Gel
q Drums letter was brought to the notice I
the President he simply told Endicott tn
n he was going too fast aud that, on lookir
- up the matter, he found that no such d'
# position of the flags in question could
/. made anyhow without special authoriz